POBots Robotics Team headed to championship

The Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School robotics team, POBots, is headed to the FIRST Robotics Championships in Houston, Texas, to compete against teams from across the world. The tournament runs from April 19 to April 22.

POBots were selected for this honor after stellar showings at regional competitions at Hofstra University and New York City, where the team earned a win-loss record of 7-3 and 8-2, respectively. The team also won the FIRST Sustainability Award at both competitions. The award honors teams that have developed and demonstrated sustainable programs to ensure the members operate as a cohesive unit, allowing them to proactively identify and manage risks and acquire assets to effectively deal with adversity and unex- pected events. The team’s robot for 2023 is Murray, named after POBJFKHS’s beloved principal, James Murray, who is retiring this year.

POBots is competing against 620 other championship teams from across the world, including Canada, Turkey, the United Kingdom, Israel, Mexico and more. The team’s participation comes with a long and storied history at FIRST, where it has been competing each year since 1999!

“This achievement is just another wonderful milestone in the POBots’ more than 20-year history,” said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mary O’Meara. “The ingenuity and teamwork these students have shown have taken them to the world stage, and our school community could not be prouder.”